Could you Awaken a metal mind with identity alone?

[TacoBellChoutaMeal]

Iirc, Brandon has stated that there are other ways to awaken objects that don’t involve Breath. The later-cosmere secret projects making passing references to Awakened Metal Minds. Do we think that these are merely metalminds filled to the brim with one person’s Identity, or is there likely something else going on here?

[Treamayne]

On 10/8/2025 at 7:07 PM, TacoBellChoutaMeal said:

Iirc, Brandon has stated that there are other ways to awaken objects that don’t involve Breath. The later-cosmere secret projects making passing references to Awakened Metal Minds. Do we think that these are merely metalminds filled to the brim with one person’s Identity, or is there likely something else going on here?

Investiture seeks sapience. WoB:

Spoiler

Argent

You've said that Investiture tends to develop sapience on its own. Is this a function of the amount of Investiture alone (i.e. any pile of Investiture large enough will develop sapience eventually), or does the process require extra effort (e.g. a Command from an Awakener, an action by a Shard, etc.)?

Brandon Sanderson

Under the right circumstances, a pile of investiture will eventually become self-aware. But there is no specific timing. The more investiture clumped together, the more likely--and the closer to human-level intelligence it is likely to obtain.

Of course, if you leave matter alone long enough (on a galactic scale) it will eventually end up becoming sapient too. So this isn't that different. (Well, okay, it is.)

Boogalyhu34

Are humans already sapient and intelligent because their Spiritual DNA tell their innate investiture what connections to make or what weird soul pattern to go into.

Brandon Sanderson

Let's RAFO that for now.

Stormlight Three Update #4 (Oct. 4, 2016)

There are likely to be a number of ways. BioChromatic Breath achieves this through Investiture + Command. Investiture + Identity might help, but it would have to be a lot of Investiture, and then there is likely another step needed. WoB:

Spoiler

Questioner

Say you have a Feruchemist who pours Identity into a metalmind. Then subsequently loses that mind, and then is later Awakened? Would that mind retain the personality of--

*Everyone laughs, Scottish man says "it's 11 o'clock at night, give the man a break!"*

Brandon Sanderson

Okay, so they store Identity—which I haven't told you what it does--

Questioner

Yep. We don't know.

Brandon Sanderson

And then you Awaken it, and then you want to know if it has the personality of the person?

Questioner

Yeah, or if it's able to communicate in any way.

Brandon Sanderson

Um, if-- how much Awakened is it? Is it Nightblood-level Awakened? Or is it just regular Awakened?

Questioner

Sure let's say Nightblood-level.

Brandon Sanderson

Nightblood-level. So it's-- so the Investiture has been granted sapience. And it's got Investiture from somebody else stuffed in it. I can foresee a scenario where that has an influence, but it's not going to be the personality of the person who stuffed it in. I can see some circumstances where they can-- where the Investiture of the object can make use of that in some way, but...

Oh boy, that was a weird one.

Shadows of Self Lansing signing (Oct. 13, 2015)

Hope that helps

Edited October 12, 2025 by Treamayne
SPAG

[Nitpicking]

"Awakened" metalmind could just mean in the sense that Vasher Awakens cloth to defend him. It doesn't necessarily mean "sapient" metalmind.